The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-09-07
POPULAR SCIENCE.

Electricity has entered sport. For the
angler who wishes to let his line float
gently with the stream, without the
trouble of watching it, a little electric
arrangement has been devised whereby
pull upon the line closes the circuit and
rings Il bell.
French chemists who have recently in
vcstinatcd the nature of saccharlne put
on record the fact that this compound
travcrscs the organism without any altera-
ton, and that it has an antiscptic prop
crtv: its sweetness is not similar to cane
sugar, us has been asserted; its flavor is
slightly saline and raw.
According to recent Investigations by
DR.. Chon, an eminent authority on the
subject, dilfuscd daylight is not in
furious to the eye, the great dcsidcratum
therefore in artificial illumination being
to initiate the conditions of natural
light-that is, it should not be dazzling,
should be supplied bountifully, should
not heat the eyes, and should burn
steadily.
1t has been assumed that the pain
which follows the singing of the ncttlc,
and possibly other plants, is due to formic
acid. DR.. IIabcrland. of Vienna, de-
monstratcs clearly that this is an error.
1t is not formic acid that is emitted by
these singing hairs; though just what it
is the Doctor is not able to determine. 1t
may lead to examination now that the
generally accepted belief is demonstrated
! to be erroneous.
Prof. Manuel Marazta has discovered
race of dwarfS, not more than four feet
high, in the valley of Rebas (Gcrona,
SPAIN, at the end of the Eastern Pyrcn-
ecs. All the individuals have red hair,
broad faces, strongly developed jaws, fiat
noses, and eyes which arc oblique, like
those OF Mongolians. The males have
! no beard save few hairs, and the sexes
are very much alike. They intermarry
among themselves, live isolated from
their ncighbors, and have no chance for
improvement.
Some singular objects which appeared
in Berkshire, England, in January, 1871,
were described by Rev. A.. Bonncy at a
late meeting of the Royal Meteorological
Society. A little before noon, group
of air bubbles, resembling ordinary toy
balloons in size and shape, were seen to
rise from level space of snow to Il con-
siderable height, and then to move NJ!
and down within limited area and a!
equal distances from each other. After
about two minutes they were caught by
an air-culrent and borne eastward out OF
siuht Another rroup rose from the
same spot and exhibited precisely the
same movements.
In recounting some of the scientific
discoveries and inventions OF modern
times, Sir John Lubbock declares that
recent Investigations show that many old
principles have far wider application
than WIS suspected by those who discov-
cred them-as, for instance. that the
formula of the law of gravitation, as is
now known, applies to electricity, and
probably to other modes of force. The
invention of dynamite and other nitro
gen compounds, as destructive force,
says Professor Lubbock, promises to play
an important part in the history of civili-
zation. Chemistry has yielded large
number of compounds to prevent disease
and alleviate pain, and for the use OF the
arts. In connection with the sciences of
heat, light and sound, much has become
known, the application OF which has
greatly increased the comforts and
pleasures of life, but it is to electricity
that the largest number of useful invcn-
tions are due.